Miss Van
Pale Moonlight Muse I , 2021
“In my painting, Pale Moonlight Muse I, I was inspired by this British Colombian Bear Mask, and my …
A trailblazing street artist, Miss Van (née Vanessa Alice Bensimon) has been creating her signature sloe-eyed, full-lipped, darkly burlesque poupée (doll) paintings since the age of twenty, when she was living in her hometown of Toulouse, France. Her poupées are provocative, erotic, and uninhibitedly sexual, and function as an extension of the artist’s feelings. Now based in Barcelona, Miss Van focuses almost exclusively on studio art. Since shifting from the outdoors to an indoor setting, Miss Van’s poupées have grown increasingly refined due to the artist’s exploration of new materials and techniques. Her recent “Ballerina” series features poupées in anthropomorphic masks. The images are inspired by vintage erotic portraiture and address themes of identity, fetish, and freedom.
“In my painting, Pale Moonlight Muse I, I was inspired by this British Colombian Bear Mask, and my concern was to give it a feminine, exotic dimension, even if it meant hiding the whole face of the Muse. I'm always seeking the ambiguity and finest balance between raw, wild and sensual, delicate".
- Miss Van -
A trailblazing street artist, Miss Van (née Vanessa Alice Bensimon) has been creating her signature sloe-eyed, full-lipped, darkly burlesque poupée (doll) paintings since the age of twenty, when she was living in her hometown of Toulouse, France. Her poupées are provocative, erotic, and uninhibitedly sexual, and function as an extension of the artist’s feelings. Now based in Barcelona, Miss Van focuses almost exclusively on studio art. Since shifting from the outdoors to an indoor setting, Miss Van’s poupées have grown increasingly refined due to the artist’s exploration of new materials and techniques. Her recent “Ballerina” series features poupées in anthropomorphic masks. The images are inspired by vintage erotic portraiture and address themes of identity, fetish, and freedom.
